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Gimbal Lock

Gimbal lock is the loss of one degree of freedom in a three-dimensional, three-gimbal mechanism that occurs when the axes of two of the three gimbals are driven into a parallel configuration, "locking" the system into rotation in a degenerate two-dimensional space.

The word lock is misleading: no gimbal is restrained. All three gimbals can still rotate freely about their respective axes of suspension. Nevertheless, because of the parallel orientation of two of the gimbals' axes there is no gimbal available to accommodate rotation about one axis.

from Gimbal Lock - Wikipedia

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Euler (Gimbal Lock) Explained

GuerrillaCG
8 min
Beginner
Video
Theory

In this video we explore Euler Rotations, the most common method for orienting objects in 3d. It's by-product "gimbal lock" can cause headaches for animators because the animated motion can...

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Gimbal Lock in reference to the Apollo missions

The Vintage Space
4 min
Intermediate
Video
Theory

A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. For this reason, a set of three axes gimbals are used in spacecrafts to help with orientation attitude control...

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